Almost Famous is a 2000 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe, and starring Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson and Patrick Fugit. It tells the story of a teenage journalist writing for Rolling Stone in the early 1970s, his touring with the fictitious rock band Stillwater, and his efforts to get his first cover story published. The film is semi-autobiographical, as Crowe himself was a teenage writer for Rolling Stone.

The film received widespread acclaim from critics and received four Academy Award nominations, including a win for Best Original Screenplay. It was also awarded the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. Roger Ebert hailed it the best film of the year as well as the ninth-best film of the 2000s. It also won two Golden Globe Awards, for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture (Hudson). In a 2016 international poll conducted by BBC, Almost Famous was ranked the 79th greatest film since 2000. In a Hollywood Reporter 2014 list voted on by studio chiefs, Oscar winners and TV royalty , Almost Famous was ranked the 71st greatest film of all time. A stage musical adaptation of the film is set to open on Broadway in September 2022.

Plot

In San Diego 1969, child prodigy William Miller struggles to fit in. His life is further complicated after learning that his widowed college-professor mother Elaine has falsely led him to believe he is thirteen years old. William is actually eleven, having started the first grade at five years old, and skipping fifth grade. Strong-willed Elaine s strict ban on rock music and her fear of pop culture have a negative effect on her children, finally driving William s 18-year-old sister Anita to move to San Francisco and become a flight attendant.

In 1973, William, now fifteen, influenced by Anita s secret cache of rock albums, aspires to be a rock journalist, writing freelance articles for underground papers in San Diego. Rock journalist Lester Bangs, impressed with William s writing, gives him a $35 assignment to review a Black Sabbath concert. William is barred from backstage until the opening band Stillwater arrives and William flatters his way in. Lead guitarist Russell Hammond takes a liking to him and his new acquaintance, veteran groupie Penny Lane, who has taken William under her wing. Despite behaving as stereotypical groupies, Penny Lane insists she and her friends are band aids , a term she invented to describe female fans that are there more for the music than for the rock stars themselves.

Rolling Stone editor Ben Fong-Torres hires William to write an article about Stillwater, based on his skills, and sends him on the road with the band. William interviews the other band members, but Russell repeatedly puts him off. Tensions between Russell and lead singer Jeff Bebe soon become evident and not helped at all by the band s first t-shirt, a full band shot that pictures Russell in full view while the rest of the band is in the shadows. William is jokingly called the enemy by the band as he is a journalist, but he gradually begins to lose his objectivity as he becomes integrated into their inner circle.

The record label hires Dennis, a professional manager, to handle problems with venues and promoters. Penny has to leave before the band reaches New York, where Russell s girlfriend Leslie will join them. Penny and her three protégée band aids are gambled away to another band in a poker game; Penny acts nonchalantly but is devastated. Meanwhile, Dennis charters a small plane so the band can play more gigs.

Penny shows up uninvited at the New York restaurant where they are celebrating the news that they are to be featured on the cover of Rolling Stone. Penny is asked to leave after Leslie notices her attempts to get Russell s attention. William chases her to her hotel, where he saves her from overdosing on quaaludes.

Flying to a gig the following day, the plane encounters severe weather. Fearing the plane will crash, everyone confesses their secrets, while Jeff and Russell s long-simmering conflicts erupt. William confesses his love for Penny after Jeff insults her. The plane lands safely in Tupelo, leaving everyone to ponder the changed atmosphere.

William arrives at the Rolling Stone office in San Francisco but has difficulty finishing the article. Seeking help, he calls Lester Bangs who says William got caught up in being part of the band. He says his perceived friendships with them are not real and advises him to be honest…and unmerciful. Rolling Stone s editors rave over William s completed article, but when the magazine s fact checker calls the band, Russell lies to protect Stillwater s image and claims most of it is false. Rolling Stone kills the article, crushing William. Anita encounters a dejected William in the airport and offers to take him anywhere; he chooses for them to go to their home in San Diego, where their mother Elaine is glad to see both of them.

Sapphire, one of the protégée Band Aids , chastises Russell for betraying William. He then calls Penny, wanting to meet with her, but she gives him William s address. He arrives and finds himself face-to-face with William s mother who, during the tour, scolded him over the phone for his behavior. Russell apologizes to William and finally gives him an interview. Russell has verified William s article to Rolling Stone, which runs it as a cover feature. Penny fulfills her long-standing fantasy to go to Morocco while Stillwater tours again by bus.

Cast

• Patrick Fugit as William Miller Michael Angarano as young William
• Michael Angarano as young William
• Billy Crudup as Russell Hammond
• Frances McDormand as Elaine Miller
• Kate Hudson as Penny Lane (Lady Goodman)
• Jason Lee as Jeff Bebe
• Zooey Deschanel as Anita Miller
• Anna Paquin as Polexia Aphrodisia
• Fairuza Balk as Sapphire
• Bijou Phillips as Estrella Starr
• Noah Taylor as Dick Roswell
• Philip Seymour Hoffman as Lester Bangs
• Terry Chen as Ben Fong-Torres
• Jay Baruchel as Vic Munoz
• Jimmy Fallon as Dennis Hope
• Rainn Wilson as David Felton
• Mark Kozelek as Larry Fellows
• Liz Stauber as Leslie Hammond
• Zack Ward as the Legendary Red Dog
• John Fedevich as Ed Vallencourt
• Eric Stonestreet as Sheldon the desk clerk
• Marc Maron as angry promoter
• Peter Frampton as Reg
• Mitch Hedberg as Eagles road manager

Production

Crowe used a composite of the bands he had known to create Stillwater, the emerging group that welcomes the young journalist into its sphere, then becomes wary of his intentions. Stillwater was the name of a real band signed to Macon, Georgia s Capricorn Records label, which required the film s producers to obtain permission to use the name. In an interview, real Stillwater guitarist Bobby Golden said, They could have probably done it without permission but they probably would have had a bunch of different lawsuits. Our lawyer got in touch with them. They wanted us to do it for free and I said, No we re not doing it for free. So we got a little bit of change out of it. Seventies rocker Peter Frampton served as a technical consultant on the film. Crowe and his then-wife, musician Nancy Wilson of Heart, co-wrote three of the five Stillwater songs in the film, and Frampton wrote the other two, with Mike McCready of Pearl Jam playing lead guitar on all of the Stillwater songs.

The character of Russell Hammond was originally set to be played by Brad Pitt. But during rehearsal prior to filming, Crowe and Pitt mutually decided that it was “not the right fit”, and Pitt dropped out of the project. The line “I am a Golden God!” in the pool-jumping sequence, as well as numerous references to Russell Hammond being unusually good looking, were written for Pitt, but remained in the script after Billy Crudup was cast.

Jack Black and Jon Favreau auditioned for the role of Lester Bangs.

Crowe based the character of Penny Lane on the real-life Pennie Lane Trumbull and her group of female promoters who called themselves the Flying Garter Girls Group . Though they were not in the Flying Garter Girls group, various other women have been described as Crowe s inspiration, for instance Pamela Des Barres and Bebe Buell. Sarah Polley was originally cast as Penny Lane but when Brad Pitt dropped out she dropped out as well and was replaced with Kate Hudson.

The character of William Miller s mother (played by Frances McDormand) was based on Crowe s own mother, who even showed up on the set to keep an eye on him while he worked. Although he asked his mother not to bother McDormand, the two women ended up getting along well.

Alice in Chains guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell was Crowe s first choice for the role of Stillwater bass player Larry Fellows. Cantrell is friends with Crowe and had previously appeared in two films directed by him, Singles (1992) and Jerry Maguire (1996). Cantrell was busy writing the songs for his solo album Degradation Trip and had to turn the role down. Mark Kozelek was cast instead.

Crowe took a copy of the film to London for a special screening with Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. After the screening, Led Zeppelin granted Crowe the right to use one of their songs on the soundtrack—the first time they had ever consented to this since allowing Crowe to use Kashmir in Fast Times at Ridgemont High—and also gave him rights to four of their other songs in the movie itself, although they did not grant him the rights to Stairway to Heaven for an intended scene (on the special Bootleg edition DVD, the scene is included as an extra, sans the song, where the viewer is instructed by a watermark to begin playing it).

In his 2012 memoir My Cross to Bear, Gregg Allman writes that several aspects of the movie are based on Crowe s time spent with the Allman Brothers Band. The scene in which Russell jumps from the top of the Topeka party house into a pool was based on something Duane Allman did: the jumping off the roof into the pool, that was Duane—from the third floor of a place called the Travelodge in San Francisco. My brother wanted to do it again, but the cat who owned the place came out shaking his fist, yelling at him. We told that story all the time, and I have no doubt that Cameron was around for it. He also confirms that he and Dickey Betts played a joke on Crowe by claiming clauses in their contract did not allow his story to be published—just before he was to deliver it to Rolling Stone.

The airplane malfunction near Tupelo, Mississippi that occurred in the film is a thinly veiled reference to the Lynyrd Skynyrd airplane crash on October 20, 1977.

Filming of the movie lasted 92 days.

Soundtrack

The Almost Famous soundtrack album was awarded the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

Personnel

Stillwater

• Jason Lee ( Jeff Bebe ) – vocals
• Billy Crudup ( Russell Hammond ) – guitar
• Mark Kozelek ( Larry Fellows ) – bass guitar
• John Fedevich ( Ed Vallencourt ) – drums

Other personnel

• Nancy Wilson
• Peter Frampton
• Mike McCready
• Jon Bayless
• Ben Smith
• Gordon Kennedy
• Marti Frederiksen – vocals

Songs on the Soundtrack

• Simon & Garfunkel : America – 3:37
• The Who : Sparks – 3:48
• Todd Rundgren : It Wouldn t Have Made Any Difference – 3:51
• Yes : Your Move – 3:33
• The Beach Boys : Feel Flows – 4:43
• Stillwater : Fever Dog – 3:09
• Rod Stewart : Every Picture Tells A Story – 5:54
• The Seeds : Mr Farmer – 2:51
• The Allman Brothers Band : One Way Out – 4:58
• Lynyrd Skynyrd : Simple Man – 5:56
• Led Zeppelin : That s The Way – 5:36
• Elton John : Tiny Dancer – 6:14
• Nancy Wilson : Lucky Trumble – 2:41
• David Bowie : I m Waiting for The Man – 5:42
• Cat Stevens : The Wind – 1:40
• Clarence Carter : Slip Away – 2:31
• Thunderclap Newman : Something In The Air – 3:53

Reception

Box office

Almost Famous had its premiere at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival. It was subsequently given a limited release on September 15, 2000, in 131 theaters where it grossed $2.3 million on its first weekend. It was given a wider release on September 22, 2000, in 1,193 theaters where it grossed $6.9 million on its opening weekend. The film went on to make $31.7 million in North America and $14.8 million in the rest of the world for a worldwide total of $47.4 million against a $60 million budget.

Critical response

Almost Famous received widespread critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes it holds an 89% approval rating, based on 175 reviews, with an average rating of 7.90/10. The site s critical consensus reads, Almost Famous, with its great ensemble performances and story, is a well-crafted, warm-hearted movie that successfully draws you into its era. On Metacritic it has a score of 90 out of 100, based on 38 reviews, indicating universal acclaim. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of A− on an A+ to F scale.

Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars, naming it the best film of 2000, and described it as funny and touching in so many different ways. In his review for The New York Times, A.O. Scott wrote, The movie s real pleasures are to be found not in its story but in its profusion of funny, offbeat scenes. It s the kind of picture that invites you to go back and savor your favorite moments like choice album cuts. Richard Corliss of Time praised the film s screenplay for giving each character his reasons, making everyone in the emotional debate charming and compelling, creating fictional people who breathe in a story with an organic life. In her review for the L.A. Weekly, Manohla Dargis wrote that the film shimmers with the irresistible pleasures that define Hollywood at its best—it s polished like glass, funny, knowing and bright, and filled with characters whose lives are invariably sexier and more purposeful than our own. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote, Not since A Hard Day s Night has a movie caught the thrumming exuberance of going where the music takes you. In his review for Newsweek, David Ansen wrote, Character-driven, it relies on chemistry, camaraderie, a sharp eye for detail and good casting. Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, best-of list, saying, Every Cameron Crowe film is, in one way or another, about romance, rock & roll, and his romance with rock & roll. This power ballad of a movie, from 2000, also happens to be Crowe s greatest (and most personal) film thanks to the golden gods of Stillwater and their biggest fan, Kate Hudson s incomparable Penny Lane.

Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A− rating and Owen Gleiberman praised Crowe for depicting the 1970s as an era that found its purpose in having no purpose. Crowe, staying close to his memories, has gotten it, for perhaps the first time, onto the screen. In his review for the Los Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan praised Philip Seymour Hoffman s portrayal of Lester Bangs: Superbly played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, more and more the most gifted and inspired character actor working in film, what could have been the clichéd portrait of an older mentor who speaks the straight truth blossoms into a marvelous personality. However, in his review for The New York Observer, Andrew Sarris felt that none of the non-musical components on the screen matched the excitement of the music. For whatever reason, too much of the dark side has been left out. Desson Howe, in his review for The Washington Post, found it very hard to see these long-haired kids as products of the 1970s instead of dressed up actors from the Seattle-Starbucks era. I couldn t help wondering how many of these performers had to buy a CD copy of the song and study it for the first time.

Stage musical adaptation

In 2018, Crowe said he was working on a stage musical adaptation of the film, in which he would pen the stage libretto and write the musical numbers with Tom Kitt. It premiered in San Diego at The Old Globe in 2019 and creative work continued during the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2022, the musical announced that it will transfer to Broadway, with previews beginning September 13 and opening night scheduled for October 11, 2022. The cast of the production, directed by Jeremy Herrin, will include newcomer Casey Likes (in his Broadway acting debut) as William Miller, Chris Wood as Russell Hammond, Anika Larsen as Elaine Miller, Solea Pfeiffer as Penny Lane, Drew Gehling as Jeff Bebe, Emily Schultheis as Anita Miller, Jana Djenne Jackson as Polexia Aphrodisia, Katie Ladner as Sapphire, Gerard Canonico as Dick Roswell and Rob Colletti as Lester Bangs.

Year	2000
ReleaseDate	2000-09-22
RuntimeMins	122
RuntimeStr	2h 2min
Plot	A high-school boy in the early 1970s is given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone magazine about an up-and-coming rock band as he accompanies them on their concert tour.
Awards	Won 1 Oscar, 53 wins & 103 nominations total
Directors	Cameron Crowe
Writers	Cameron Crowe
Stars	Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson
Produced by	Ian Bryce,Cameron Crowe,Marty P. Ewing,Scott M. Martin,Steven P. Saeta,Lisa Stewart,Jerry Ziesmer
Music by	Nancy Wilson
Cinematography by	John Toll
Film Editing by	Joe Hutshing,Saar Klein
Casting By	Gail Levin
Art Direction by	Clay A. Griffith,Clayton Hartley,Virginia L. Randolph
Set Decoration by	Robert Greenfield
Costume Design by	Betsy Heimann
Makeup Department	Audrey L. Anzures,Kathryn Blondell,Lois Burwell,Carolyn Elias,Michael Germain,Marina Hart,Kim Messina,Maggie Myer,Donna Cicatelli-Lewis,Maggie Fung,Linda Grimes,Timothy A. Miguel,Jennifer Saeta,Dan Uebel
Production Management	Carla Corwin,Lisa Dennis,Marty P. Ewing,Amy Herman,Steven P. Saeta
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Carla Corwin,Stephen V. Johnson,David Kelley,Amy Lynn,Jill Southern,Andrew Ward,Laurie Webb,Eric Yellin,Jerry Ziesmer,Jason Roberts
Art Department	Ruben Abarca,David H. Allen,Doreen Austria,Cliff Berns,Conny Boettger-Marinos,Steve Borgese,Charisse Cardenas,Larry Guy Clause,Cece Destefano,John R. Elliott,David Fanderlik,Melissa Feinberg,Pete Gikas,Carmine Goglia,Tim Gomes,Rod Gregory,Glen E. Hawbecker,Lee J. Jashinsky,Lisa M. Kittredge-Rodriguez,Mark Kusy,Kim Lincoln,John Hammer Maxwell,Mike Medina,Michael Molen,Chris Peterson,Bart Rees,Eric Rosenberg,Michael Ruby,Dominic Sandfrey,Shana Sigmond,Tim Snowber,Jeannine Stevens,Mindy R. Toback,Joe Viau,Adam L. Barker,David L. Bell,Shirley Belwood,Todd Bennett,Philip Canfield,Vincent D’Aquino,Guillaume DeLouche,Brendan C. Fenton,Stephen Gibson,Alex Hillkurtz,Al Hobbs,Byron K. Lovelace,Bryan McBrien,Jeff O’Bannon,Christopher Parker,Jeffrey Rollins,Eddie Ros,Chris Samp
Sound Department	Laura Harris Atkinson,Robert Batha,Kerry Carmean-Williams,Don Coufal,Dino Dimuro,Nerses Gezalyan,Tim Gomillion,Laura Graham,Doug Hemphill,Rick Kline,Tony Lamberti,Lee W. Lebaigue,Kimaree Long,Paul Massey,Tim McColm,Daniel Mendez,James Moriana,Scott Olson,Kelly Oxford,LaNessa Phearson,Dennis Rogers,Scott Sanders,Branden Spencer,Frederick H. Stahly,David Stanke,Wylie Stateman,Greg Steele,Jon Title,Jeff Wexler,Jeffrey Wilhoit,Michael D. Wilhoit,Scott Wolf,Greg Zimmerman,Mark Choi,Rob Disner,Sean England,Scott Jason Farr,Jeff Glueck,Larry Hopkins,Mike Lanoue,Michael Miller,John Soukup
Special Effects by	John Frazier,Jim Jolly,Jim Schwalm,Steve Riley,J.D. Schwalm
Visual Effects by	Patrick Ballin,Travis Baumann,John Cassella,Robert Chapin,Nicolle Cornute,John ‘D.J.’ Des Jardin,Matt Dessero,Phillip Feiner,Donald Fly,Chris Flynn,Fortunato Frattasio,Mark Freund,Gary George,Gilbert Gonzales,Tom Gorey,Nicolle Gray,Maureen Healy,Rob Hodgson,Heather Hoyland,Ed Jones,David Lee,Mark Leo Perry,Matt Magnolia,Diana Miao,Rodney Montague,Devorah Petty,Sheldon Ramones,John E. Sasaki,Stan Storc,Jonathan F. Styrlund,Daniel Sunwoo,Sean White,Chris Wood,Roger Dorney
Stunts	Joey Box,Charles Croughwell,Thomas DuPont,Gregg Sargeant,Sonny Tipton,Mark Aaron Wagner,Darlene Ava Williams
Camera and Electrical Department	Sal Alvarez,Dustin Ault,Herb Ault,Rick Avotte,James Barrett,Erik Bernstein,John S. Beyers,Kyle Carden,Billy Craft,Jerry DeBlau,Dhamarata Dhiensuwana,Jeff Durling,Raymond Gonzales,Chris Haarhoff,Kim Heath,Danny Jimenez,Tommy Klines,Mitchell Andrew Lillian,Charles Minsky,Chris Napolitano,Scot A. Nederman-Paul,Neal Preston,Sean Smith,Mark Suveg,Mike Thomas,Chris Toll,Renee Treyball,Jeffrey L. Wilson,Randy Woodside,Adam Barth,Chuck Cohen,David Conelli,Julian de la Pena,JT Diaz,Matthew Dorsey,Sean P. Fickert,Jason Gary,Michael Grady,Matt Jackson,Nils Johnson,Eric Kieweg,Mark R. Leins,Rick Marroquin,Stan McClain,Marty Miller,Matthew Moriarty,Jaim O’Neil,Morten Petersen,Lee Rose,Joel A. Ruiz,Don Telles,Vich Thiensuwana,Massimiliano Trevis,Steven J. Winslow,Giovanni Zelko,Steve Zvorsky
Casting Department	Andrew S. Brown,Rich King,Rudy Quintanilla,Niki Boyle,Andrew Fox,Tina Real
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Alice S. Awad,Betty Besio,Melissa Binder,Lisa Buchignani,Brian Callahan,Michael Dennison,Jorge J. González,Linda Henrikson,Nisa Kellner,Francisco Mares,Leslie Miller,Jonny Pray,Patia Prouty,Nava R. Sadan,D. Barak Stribling,James P. Cullen,Erin Lenk,Nancy Smytka,Susan J. Wright
Editorial Department	Gary Burritt,Martin Cohen,Richard Conkling,Daniel Fair,Heather Goodwin Floyd,Cecilia Hyoun,Mark Livolsi,David Orr,Lisa Marie Serra,Ofe Yi
Location Management	Joie Gregory,James McCabe,Michael Schumacher,David Thornsberry,Jay Traynor,Kristan Wagner,David Brotsky,Demian Resnick,Eva M. Schroeder,Brian Sweeney
Music Department	Jon Bayless,Danny Bramson,James Eric,Peter Frampton,Todd Homme,Carlton Kaller,Gordon Kennedy,Mike McCready,Gary Raymond,Ben Smith,Nancy Wilson,Julie Butchko,Peter Frampton,Bud Raymond,Greg Townley
Script and Continuity Department	Ana Maria Quintana
Transportation Department	Ted Basso,Rudy Beilicke,Bobby Bress,Ronald Brown,Rose Echeverria,James Fanning,Robert Garcia Jr.,Lee Garibaldi,Ronald Hooker,Linda Johnson,Pete Johnson,Sandra Powell,George Power,John Sullivan,Tommy Tancharoen,Tom Whelpey,John Wiser,Kristen Dolan,William Hogue
Additional Crew	Rachel Aberly,Edward Allen,Wendy Altman-Cohen,Lori Ashcraft,Robert James Ashe,Mary Brunner,Domingo Bustamante,Jessica Campbell,Jill Carvalho,Ricky Cuevas,Kelly Curtis,Renee D. Czarapata,Kathy Rivkin Daum,George Davis,Maria DeVane,Danika Kohler Doman,Andy Fischer,Peter Frampton,Lannie Franklin,Heidi Fugeman,Josh Gilman,Michele Giordano,Rhona Gordon,Noelle Green,Danny Jacob,Michael G. Kehoe,Meti Kusari,Maryjane Layani,Stevie Lazo,Scott E. Logic,Jonas C. Matz,Walter M. McCormick,Troy McGatlin,Brandy Menefee,Belita Moreno,Danny Mormino,Kristen O’Neill,Shannon Olivolo,Julien Reedhead,Marci Rosenberg Gayner,Charles Saldana IV,Diogo Savala,Athena Shlien,Ed Sienkaniec,Jim Stevens,Jocelyn Towne,Jim Turner,Suzanne Ziesmer,Abdul Abukusumo,Donald Black,Francie Brown,Kevin A. Canamar,Sean Carville,Gabe de Kelaita,Derek Decelles,Jeffrey S. Edell,Louis Farah,Vanessa Grayson,Glenn Grimes,McJoel Hamilton,Susan Hegarty,Jack E. Herman,Lora Hingst,Steve Hinton,Vaughn Tyree Jelks,Justin Kelly,Adrienne King,Steve Lee,Antonio Manriquez,Karen Mattingly,Thomas Maxwell,Steven R. Molen,Christie Moreau,Nancy Neumann,Shaun O’Banion,Sarah Ogletree,Greg Outcalt,Randy Peters,Andy Steinlen,Scott Stravitz,Tammy Sumner,Nadia Venesse
Thanks	Lawrence Kasdan
Genres	Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Companies	Columbia Pictures, Dreamworks Pictures, Vinyl Films
Countries	USA
Languages	English, French
ContentRating	R
ImDbRating	7.9
ImDbRatingVotes	275415
MetacriticRating	90
Keywords	rock 'n' roll,rolling stone magazine,smoking marijuana,on the road,rock musician